Oddness
by NightOwl Fury
Summary: IT IS I! QUEEN OF BAD SUMMARIES!: A rebellion is more than she could handle already, but now Rowan is feeling weird around one of her best friends. It's frankly too much for a normal teen to handle. But then again, she's not totally normal...


**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. That'd be J.K.'s property.**

Chapter 1

"Ah!" I fell face first on the ground with a quiet yelp. I slowly stood and brushed myself off, wriggling my nose to make sure it wasn't broken. Thankfully it wasn't, and I looked up to try and see where my older sister, Shannon, went. I saw her talking to Mr. Flarnt, the man who gave me my acceptance letter from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

I pushed through the crowd to my sister and stood next to her as she asked Mr. Flarnt some last minute questions. Mr. Flarnt is the Charms teacher at Hogwarts, and he is a very kind man. He has light brown hair, hazel eyes, and a soft smile.

Shannon looks very different from me, other than the tan complexion we both share. She has short curly blonde hair, baby blue eyes, and a gentle smile, and she is very outgoing. I, on the other hand, have wavy shoulder-blade length mahogany brown hair, forest-green eyes, slightly pointed ears, and a mischievous grin. Shannon says I have a lot of expressions, from genuine smiles and grins to smirks and 'smug eyes sparkling with mischief'. Her words, not mine.

I look around Platform 9 3/4 in awe, watching the other witches and wizards (who I think are getting a bit uncomfortable with my staring). I noticed all the parents saying goodbye to their kids, and feel a pang of envy and sorrow. My mother died when I was six, and my father never liked me. He ignores me most of the time, leaving Shannon to feed me and take care of me. Aaron, my 14 year-old brother, takes after his father in that sense and dislikes me as well, though instead of ignoring me, he bullies me.

I shook the thought out of my head and turned to look at Shan. "Shan, can I get on the train?" I asked pleadingly. The big red 'Hogwarts Express' was magnificent, and I couldn't help wanting to look inside.

Shan crouched down next to me with a smile. "We need to put your luggage in the train, but you can go ahead. Love you, Ro." She said as she hugged me. "Love you too." I whispered. She then stood with a smile, pushing my trolley full of school supplies away, my tawny owl, Howie, hooting as she went. Mr. Flarnt followed to help load the luggage after bidding me farewell and saying he would see me at school.

I dashed into the train. It was only 10:30, so I had a little while longer until the train left, and I began to search the train for an empty compartment. I passed several compartments full of laughing third and fourth years, nervous first years, and bored-looking seventh years. I finally came across an empty compartment to the back and slipped inside. I pulled my iPod out of my small brown satchel, and put my earplugs in, putting my favorite songs on shuffle. Mr. Flarnt had said electronics didn't work in Hogwarts, but he had sympathy for me and put a special charm on my iPod so that it will work, and would never run out of battery. Score!

I sighed and lay down on the seats, closing my eyes and just listening to the music. I must have fallen asleep, because I jumped and my eyes shot open when I heard a loud train whistle and a lot of shuffling outside the compartment. I looked out the window to see the train starting to move and parents waving goodbye to their kids as they went. I stood and walked to the window, spotting Shannon waving. I waved back happily. I hope I would fit in better at this new school for magic. I still can't believe that I'm a witch!

I sat back down, putting my earplugs back in my ears and pulling a book out of my satchel, titled _'The Hobbit'._ It's a very enjoyable book.

Suddenly, the door slid open and I jumped, pulling out my earplugs and looking to the door. There stood several people, five boys, and three girls, all around my age, most slightly older. The boy at the front, with black shaggy hair and dark brown eyes, blinked and looked at me. "Er... Can we come in? Everywhere else is full."

I eyed him and the other people cautiously, finally deciding they weren't a threat. "I guess." I turned and sat in the corner, beside the window. I put the earplugs back in and continued to read my book.

The people filed in, including the black-shaggy-haired boy, who sat (unfortunately) next to me. I flinched and immersed myself as best I could in my book. Across from me sat a girl that looked my age, with bushy bright red hair and brown eyes. Next to her sat a boy that also looked our age, with dark hair that looked auburn in certain light, and green eyes. Next to him sat a blonde boy with blue eyes and neat hair. Next to the black-shaggy-haired boy sat a red-haired boy with brown eyes and a sneaky grin, and next to him was a boy with wheaten hair and brown eyes. Next to him was a hyper girl with a wide smile and black kinky curls, tied tightly in a ponytail, and hazel eyes. The last girl had waist-length straight white-blonde hair and icy blue eyes. How many people can fit in here?

The others seem content to ignore me, but the redheaded girl across from me smiled at me cheerfully. "Hi, I'm Rose Weasley. Who're you?" He stuck her hand out for me to shake, and I obliged hesitantly, pulling my earplugs out yet again.

"I'm Rowan." I said quietly.

She nodded. She turned to everyone else. "How about we all introduce ourselves to Rowan, who kindly let us into her compartment?" She said loudly.

The boy next to me grumbled and said something about Rose sounding exactly like her mother. He sighed and turned to me. "I'm James Sirius Potter." He waited, as if expecting some sort of reaction. I raised an eyebrow. James looked at me weirdly, as did the rest of the compartment. "Oh!" James exclaimed. "Muggleborn, right?"

I frowned. "Muggleborn?"

The red-haired boy next to James spoke. "It means your parents aren't wizards."

"Oh," I said. "No... They aren't."

The boy beside James nodded. "I'm Fred Weasley II, joker and prankster extraordinaire. As is James." Fred grinned at James. James grinned back.

I blinked.

The blonde boy with blue eyes smiled at me slightly. "I'm Louis Weasley."

The wheaten-haired boy beside Fred waved jovially. "I'm Linus Dakota Bagley, also joker and prankster extraordinaire."

The girls all rolled their eyes. The pale girl with black kinky curls turned to me. "I'm Jacqueline Underwood but please call me Jackie. Nice to meet you!"

I smiled slightly and bookmarked my page in _'The Hobbit'_, knowing I wouldn't be reading anymore anytime soon.

The white-blonde girl across from Jackie smiled at me warmly. "I'm Gail Névé Whitewinds."

"She has a TON of animals. And siblings. She practically lives in a barn!" James whispered to me.

"I heard that, James!" Gail snapped.

Rose nudged the boy next to her and he looked up. "Uh, I'm Albus. Oh! Uh, Potter. Albus Potter. Oh wait, Albus Severus Potter. Yeah..." He rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment.

Everyone in the compartment snickered a little bit (excluding myself), but Albus glared at them and they shut up. "Albie is very shy." James said teasingly.

Albus gritted his teeth. "Don't call me that." He said, apparently trying to remain calm.

"Are you first years, too?" I asked quickly, trying to change the topic before a sibling war broke out.

"Albus and I are, but James, Fred, Linus, Louis, Jackie, and Gail are all second years." Rose said.

I nodded. "So what houses are you all in?"

James grinned. "Well, obviously I'm a Gryffindor. So is Fred and Linus. Louis and Jackie are in Ravenclaw, and Gail's probably the only nice Slytherin."

Gail frowned. "We aren't all bad, you know. I have several very nice friends in Slytherin, including my brother."

James shrugged. "So what house d'you think you all will be in?" He directed the question towards the first years.

Rose's face lit up. "I'm hoping Gryffindor because that's where most of our cousins are or were in. But Ravenclaw wouldn't be bad either. What about you, Rowan?"

I frowned. "Uh... I really have no idea. What house do you think you'll be in, Albus?"

Albus looked up, surprised, and blinked. "Um, well, I don't really know. I guess I'd like to be in Gryffindor with my family..." He shrugged.

I nodded. There was an awkward silence. "Soooo... Do any of you guys have siblings? Well, James and Albus are obviously brothers, and Gail mentioned a brother, and a few of you have the last name Weasley." I said, squinting my eyes.

Rose smiled. "Actually we're all cousins. Except James and Al, they are siblings like you guessed. And Linus, Jackie, and Gail are all just friends, we aren't related to them."

James nodded. "We also have a little sister, Lily, who will be going to Hogwarts in two years."

I smiled sadly. I wouldn't have any siblings at Hogwarts, and even if they were magical, Shannon would be in her last year and Aaron would just be a pain in the neck.

"I have a brother, Hugo, who will also be coming to Hogwarts in two years." Rose said with a confused smile, noticing my sad look.

Gail sighed. "I've got a lot of siblings. My family is a pureblood wizarding family, meaning we're all wizards. Okay, let's see... There's Daphne and Dahlia, they're eight year-old twins, Shane is three, Thomas is nearly two, and Rick is fifteen, he's also in Slytherin."

Jackie coughed. "I think you're forgetting someone."

Gail furrowed her brow. "Oh! Right," she exclaimed sheepishly. "There's also Lloyd, who is six."

I smiled. "They sound nice."

Gail laughed. "They can all be little demons at times, but they're great."

"I've got two older sisters in Gryffindor, Dominique and Victoire. Dom's in fifth year, and Toire's in seventh." Louis said with a smile.

"What about you? Any siblings?" Rose asked excitedly.

"Yeah," I said quietly. "Two, but they're muggles. Shannon and Aaron."

They all nodded obliviously, apparently not sensing my discomfort.

Eventually, they all began to converse with each other, and I happily put my earplugs back in and opened my book again.

One of my favorite songs, a Hindi prayer redone by The Piano Guys, came on and I nodded my head and hummed along to it. In my head I sang it.

_Twamev mata ca pita, badhu, sakha, vidya, dravidam_

_Sarvo mum deva deva_

_Khushnuma_

_Kuch saalon pehle ki baatein, Mujhko yaad aayi_

_Jisme mainey kuch galtiya ki thi_

_Aur phir jaane kyo, Dil ye rota tha_

_Kyonki nadaani karnaa aasaan tha_

_Mere dil ki hai dua, Khush raho sadaa_

_Na bhoolana… Khushnuma_

The others began to look at me weirdly as I hummed so I shrunk back into the seat a little and stopped humming, just reading my book. It's a really good book.

I was pulled out of my thoughts, which included dragons, thrushes, and random Swahili words, when James asked me a question. I pulled my earplugs out, sighing. "Sorry, I didn't catch that."

"Why do you have muggle earplugs? Electronics don't work in Hogwarts." James asked again with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh," I looked down at my earplugs and stuffed them and the iPod back into my satchel. "Uh, Mr. Flarnt put a charm on them or something, so they'll work."

Rose's eyes lit up. "That is so cool! Can I see?"

I hesitantly handed her my iPod and she looked through it eagerly. I'm glad I don't have anything personal on there. She accidentally blared some music out of the iPod, for I had taken the headphones out, and she gasped as a random song started playing. I smiled and took the iPod from her gently, pausing the music.

"That is so cool! Can I hear more?" Rose asked excitedly.

I smiled slightly at her enthusiasm and plugged the earplugs back in and told her to put the in her ears. She obliged and I pressed play again, her eyes lighting up. I gave her the iPod back to scroll through Spotify as she wished, and leaned back to see the others staring at me. "What?" I asked.

They shrugged and turned back to talking about pranks and schoolwork. Albus looked just as bored as me. I couldn't read 'The Hobbit' since everyone but Rose and Albus were talking and I didn't have my music to block most of it out. I saw Rose jump and giggle as a new, louder song probably started playing.

"Sooo..." I starting saying. Albus looked up. "Uh... What do you like to do?"

Albus blinked. "Oh, uh, I like to write, and read, and watch muggle TV..."

I smiled. "Me too! I love to draw, though, want to see some of my drawings?"

"Uh, sure."

I shuffled around in my satchel, and dumped my half-dozen sketchbooks or so on the table.

Albus's eyes widened. "You really like to draw."

I grinned. "Yep!" I looked at my sketchbooks. There were two denim ones, one that said "Scenery" on the cover, and the other with "Animals". One was brown leather with a Velcro strap that said "Historical", another was black leather with a Velcro strap that read "Mythological". The second-to-last had a green cover with "Plants" written on it, and the last had a cover that looked like red dragon scales that read "Dragons".

I looked up at a still staring Albus. "Which one?" I asked as I gestured to the pile I had lined up so he could see.

Albus blinked. "Oh, uh, how about scenery?" He pointed to my denim book.

I grinned and handed it to him as I picked up my "Dragons" book and looked through the pages.

He scanned my drawings thoroughly with wide eyes. "You're really good, Rowan."

I blushed. "No, I'm not that good... I just love to draw and paint, and sometimes I'll spend some time at my grandmother's neighbor's house, who is an artist. Her paintings are amazing."

He put my scenery sketchbook down and picked up the "Animals" one. He stopped on one page and turned the book to show me. "Who's this?" It was a sketch of my old dog, Mocha. I smiled slightly. "That's my old dog, he was called Mocha." Mocha was a chocolate brown field spaniel, and he used to be my best friend.

Albus looked back at the drawing. "What happened to him?" He asked quietly.

I winced. "H-he... Died. Cancer, you know."

He nodded mutely and continued to look through the book.

I sighed and looked at one of my dragon drawings. It was a Chinese dragon, and he was snaking around a pine tree and blasting fire at a passing wide-eyed pigeon. I sometimes draw cartoony things like that.

"You're a really good artist, Rowan." Albus murmured in amazement as he looked at a particularly detailed sketch of a squirrel.

"Thanks," I said quietly. "Most of my drawings are animals, I've always had a kind of connection with them." I shrugged.

Throughout the train ride, Rose listened to music and watched some TV, and Albus and I talked and looked through my drawings. Soon enough it was time to change into our robes. I left for the dressing room and quickly changed from my faded blue jeans, black and white striped shirt, and thin gray cardigan with a hood into my Hogwarts uniform.

As I was walking back I accidentally walked into a girl my age with long blonde hair and sharp brown eyes. "Hey! Watch where you're going, freak." She said, looking down at me, for I had fallen on the floor. I could immediately tell this girl was a bitch. I smiled sweetly and got up, not even bothering to apologize, and walked back to my compartment. I could tell the girl was glaring icily at my back, but I ignored her and stepped into the compartment, sliding the door shut behind me. I slid into my seat next to the window and promptly put my forehead on the table. Rose and Albus were not yet back, so that left me, James, Jackie, Gail, Linus, Louis, and Fred to our own devices.

"Only about ten minutes 'til we get there," Fred said with a yawn. "Good thing too, I'm getting hungry."

Rose and Albus returned a few minutes later, chatting animatedly about something or other.

I blinked slowly, feeling sleepy. "Rose, do you still have my iPod?" I asked.

Rose blinked and then blushed. "Oh, yeah, sorry." She handed me back my iPod and headphones with a sheepish smile.

"It's a'ight, Rose." I said sleepily.

She rose (no pun intended) her eyebrows in question. "Why're you acting so tired?" She asked with concern. I was pleased that she would be concerned for me, someone she just met.

"Yeah, I'm alright. I don't sleep much." I blinked at her, trying to erase the smudginess from my eyes.

Albus and Rose looked unsatisfied but sat down.

I stared out the window for the rest of the trip, thinking.

"Firs' years! Firs' years this way!" I heard a giant man yell. He was enormous, towering over the first years.

Albus, Rose, and the rest of the children in my compartment had separated, the second years going to the carriages and the first years to the boats. Albus and Rose had seemingly forgotten about me in the excitement and ran up ahead to greet the giant man, named Hagrid, who they apparently knew.

I sighed dejectedly and climbed into a separate boat from them, next to two chatty girls and a quiet blonde boy, who was very pale with intelligent gray eyes. I smiled kindly and held my hand out to him. He looked surprised, but shook it hesitantly. "I'm Rowan. Who're you?" I asked politely.

The boy shifted uncomfortably. "Scorpius Malfoy." He said, wincing, as if expecting a bad reaction.

I beamed happily. "Nice to meet you, Scorpius!" I said, delighted at the prospect of a new friend.

He blinked.

"What?" I frowned.

Scorpius shook his head. "Nothing it's just... Muggleborn?" I nodded. "Well, the Malfoy's are kinda shunned in the wizarding world. My relatives were death eaters, followers of Voldemort."

I had read about the infamous dark lord in one of my wizard books. He had killed a lot of people and tried to take over. He seemed like a pretty bad guy. Duh.

"Well I don't care." I said firmly. "I judge people on their own merit, not their family's reputation."

Scorpius blinked but smiled happily.

I noticed the other girls were staring at us. "What?"

A brunette with blue eyes and a pale complexion smiled shyly. "Uh, sorry. I'm Fiona, and this is Eleanor." She gestured to a black-haired girl with pale green eyes and a few freckles. I smiled at Eleanor but she just stared back blankly.

I frowned and turned to Fiona with a raised eyebrow.

Fiona laughed nervously. "Yeah... She does that. She's not the most emotional."

I nodded. "So, are you related?" I asked with a cocked head.

"No, we're just neighbors. I'm a half blood and Eleanor's a muggleborn." Fiona said.

I nodded and turned to look out over the water. As we rounded a bend, Hogwarts came into view. It was a giant castle that looked pretty gloomy in the darkness of the evening. I gasped quietly in awe, along with many of the other first years.

I climbed out of the boat, Scorpius walking next to me and behind a bit, seemingly wanting to stick to the only friend he had. Fiona skipped off to find her other friends, with Eleanor trailing sulkily behind.

I saw Rose and Albus chatting amiably with Hagrid, but they waved when they saw me looking. They looked briefly confused seeing Scorpius trailing closely behind like a lost puppy, but shrugged it off and continued talking to Hagrid.

We were lead into the castle and in front of some great big doors. Hagrid left and was replaced by a kind of chubby short man. I zoned out of his speech and gazed around the hall we were in.

Soon we were being led in through the doors, and I gazed in awe at the great hall. There were four long tables, which I assumed were for the different houses, with a ton of students sitting at each one. I briefly wondered if they ever ran out of room, but immediately forgot when I saw the ceiling. Or, lack thereof. The 'ceiling' looked like it opened up into the sky, stars twinkling and the occasional cloud passing overhead.

We stopped in front of the teachers' table, where there was a ratty old hat on a stool.

Unfortunately, it began to sing and I plugged my ears to block out the screeching.

I realized it had stopped when a nervous-looking first year walked up to the stool, and the short man placed the hat on his head.

I watched as the sorting was still for a few minutes, but then shouted; "RAVENCLAW!"

The table with blue and bronze banners clapped loudly as the first year scrambled towards the table with a bright smile.

Soon enough, my name was called. "Hughes, Rowan!" I took a deep breath and walked up to the stool.

The hat was placed on my head, slipping down a bit, and I immediately heard a voice in my head. _"Ah, Rowan Hughes."_

I blinked. _"Who're you?"_ I thought.

The hat chuckled. _"I am the Sorting Hat."_

I frowned. _"Alright. Doesn't that mean you're supposed to sort me?"_

_ "Hmm, right to the point. Good, good. Alright, let's see... Ah, very kind, a good Hufflepuff trait, but also very intelligent, you'd make a good Ravenclaw. Very ambitious and brave too, oh dear, you're very difficult."_

I sat for several more minutes, listening to the hat mutter. Finally, it seemed to come to a decision. It took a deep breath, and shouted; "GRYFFINDOR!"

The table clad in red and gold erupted into cheers as they clapped loudly. I got up shakily and wandered slowly towards the table, sitting at the end next to a first year and across from James and Fred.

I zoned out of the rest of the sorting until it came to a familiar name. "Malfoy, Scorpius!" Scorpius walked slowly up to the stool and sat down, looking terrified as the hat was placed on his head.

I watched with baited breath as the Sorting Hat muttered inwardly. Right before the hat shouted his final decision, Scorpius's expression briefly turned to one of disbelief and mirth. The hat opened his mouth and shouted; "GRYFFINDOR!"

Everyone was shocked for a moment as the hat was taken off of Scorpius's head. I clapped first, and soon the rest of the Gryffindors had hesitantly joined in as Scorpius stumbled towards the table. I smiled and patted the seat next to me. He smiled back slightly and slid in next to me. I continued to watch the sorting with renewed interest, and soon I saw the bitchy girl from the train being called up. "Owens, Karen!" She walked up to the stool with a smug look and sat confidently on the stool. The hat soon called out; "GRYFFINDOR!" And I groaned softly. Scorpius looked at me weirdly but I dismissed him with a wave of my hand. Karen sat down next to James and shot me a glare.

"Pearson, Fiona!" I turned to see the girl from the boat bouncing up to the stool with a wide smile. The hat was placed on her head and she jumped a little when she heard it's voice.

After about five minutes the hat looked triumphant (if a hat can look triumphant), and shouted out across the great hall; "HUFFLEPUFF!" And Fiona skipped, unfazed, to the cheering Hufflepuff table.

Soon I heard Albus's name being called. "Potter, Albus!" And immediately everyone's attention was on Albus as he nervously sat on the stool, the hat placed on his head. The hat seemed to be debating something as Albus blinked repeatedly. Soon, the hat bellowed; "GRYFFINDOR!" And the entire Gryffindor house positively erupted in hollers, cheers, and clapping. Albus beamed and walked towards the table, squeezing in between James and Karen. Karen, unfortunately, immediately started flirting with Albus and he looked quite disgusted. He looked at me with a 'save me!' expression but I just shrugged sympathetically and smirked slightly.

"Redwing, Eleanor!" I watched as Eleanor walked up to the stool and sat, a bored expression on her face. She rolled her eyes, apparently at something the hat said, and sighed. The hat seemed unimpressed but shouted; "GRYFFINDOR!" Eleanor seemed vaguely surprised but got up and sat next to Scorpius all the same.

"My, my, there are a lot of Gryffindors this year, aren't there?" James said with a smirk.

I rolled my eyes and turned to see Karen continuing to flirt with Albus and Albus looking like he'd rather be doing cardio at the moment. I stifled my laughter and looked at Eleanor across from Scorpius.

"Hey, you're Fiona's friend, right?" I asked with a smile. Eleanor nodded. I cocked my head curiously. "Er... You can talk, right?"

Eleanor snorted. "Yeah, I can talk. I just don't do it much." She said with a shake of her head as she glanced around the hall.

I shrugged and turned to watch the sorting. I heard a familiar name. "Weasley, Rose!" Rose trotted up to the stool with a smile and plopped down on the seat. The hat was placed on her head and it slipped down a bit, so you couldn't see her eyes. The hat almost immediately called out; "RAVENCLAW!" The Ravenclaw table clapped as Rose hopped off the stool and jogged to the blue and bronze table.

I zoned out of the rest of the sorting, which wasn't much, and listened to the Gryffindors talk animatedly.

Soon the sorting ended, and a stern-looking witch in emerald robes stood up and made a short speech that I will later not remember much of. When she sat back down, a humongous assortment of food just appeared on all the tables, from potatoes to turkey to corn and carrots and everything you could name, and a few things you couldn't.

I swear my eyes nearly popped out of my head. I loaded my plate with carrots, mashed potatoes, roasted potatoes, salmon, white rice, shrimp, peas, and cornbread. I hadn't eaten this much in ages!

I dug in and watched as the others joked around and ate as well. Albus was picking at his food while Karen continued to talk between mouthfuls of food.

I rolled my eyes and ate a potato happily. James and Fred were joking around, planning their next prank, playing with their food. I shook my head and turned to Eleanor and Scorpius. Scorpius was quietly munching on a piece of cornbread and Eleanor was calmly eating a large piece of salmon.

Almost as soon as I had eaten my fill, the food disappeared and we were led to our common room. Scorpius, again, stuck by me and Eleanor walked next to me quietly. Karen was stuck to Albus like a lovesick puppy. Ugh.

The prefects stopped in front of a portrait of a fat lady (by now I had noticed how all the pictures moved), and she spoke. "Password?" "Albus Dumbledore." One of the prefects answered. The portrait swung open and we all followed the prefects in. The common room was beautiful. There was a crackling fire and comfy-looking sofas and chairs, and a few tables with chess games on them.

Unfortunately for Scorpius, there were separate dorms for girls and boys, and so he could not stick to me anymore. I noticed he shared a dorm with Albus and two other boys I didn't recognize. I hoped Albus would be nice to him. I shot Scorpius an encouraging smile and climbed up the stairs to the girls dorm. When I walked in, I saw my dorm mates unpacking their things. Eleanor was there, and she gave me a small smile, but unfortunately Karen was also there, and she sneered at me in disgust. There was also a girl I didn't recognize, a slim girl with long dirty blonde hair and a tough demeanor.

I walked to my bed and quickly unpacked, changing into my pajamas and brushing my teeth as fast as I could. I hopped into bed and turned on my side, and almost immediately fell asleep.

Hogwarts was gonna be great.

**Hey peeps! I am starting way to many stories, but I came up with this idea and couldn't stop writing it :P This will be updated erratically and infrequently, so don't expect quick updates. PLEASE R&R! Peace!**

**~Nof.**


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